This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.
The Detroit Lions are really, really good. They’re probably … No, honestly, Detroit is definitely going to win the NFC North. The Packers, Bears and Vikings all stink.
But it’s not one of those division wins by default. The Lions are actually good. And I told y’all this was coming a few weeks ago. Now, we’re here. Detroit is 3-1. And Jared Goff looks pretty good.
That last point is what I want to talk about. Jared Goff, man. I’m so happy for this dude. Seeing him go at Ryan Fitzpatrick for calling him a “poor man’s Matt Ryan” brought the biggest smile to my face.
Yeah, Goff! Talk that talk, my boy. You deserve it. You’ve earned it.
Detroit isn’t winning games in spite of him — it’s partially because of him. He’s actually creating big plays now. He’s getting mixy and throwing blocks on reverse runs. He’s bouncing back big time from mistakes that he makes on the field. It’s everything we’ve ever wanted from the former No. 1 overall pick.
I can vividly remember when we clowned the Lions for trading for this guy. He had former teammates bragging about how Matthew Stafford was a step up. Sean McVay just beamed about finally having an intelligent quarterback who could make plays.
Goff never shook that stigma. He was always looked at as the quarterback who couldn’t get it done. The one who couldn’t help his team score more than three points in the Super Bowl. And, honestly, a lot of those assessments were fair. Goff wasn’t good. He desperately needed to improve.
Today, he has. He’s much better. That’s why the Lions are looking like — not just a playoff team — but one of the best teams in the NFC.
I can’t wait to see how far this thing goes for them.
The Orioles are AL East champs
Baltimore has waited so long for this day to come. It’s finally here, folks. Rejoice. Bask in it. The Orioles are AL East champions and, by default, the winner of the American League overall.
The O’s got their 100th win of the season on Thursday and, with it, the team’s first division title since 2014. Y’all. TWO THOUSAND AND FOURTEEN. That is a long, long, long time, folks. Do you know what was going on back then?
Let’s see:
— Pharrell Williams Happy was the No. 1 song on Billboard for the year
— The Hunger Games: Mockingjay had only just come out in November
— LeBron James left the Miami Heat to go to the Cleveland Cavaliers and the San Antonio Spurs were NBA champions
— The Seahawks absolutely destroyed Peyton Manning’s Broncos in the Super Bowl, 43-8
Folks. Sorry. We’re old. That was nearly 10 years ago. And that’s how long it’s been since the Orioles won the division.
Now, Baltimore has its sights set on a bigger goal — the World Series. Obviously, the team has a legitimate chance at winning it all here. As the No. 1 seed in the AL, the O’s get a bye week during wild card action. Baltimore will play either the Tampa Bay Rays or Toronto Blue Jays in the ALDS.
We’ll see how it goes. But, for now, Orioles fans should enjoy this moment. It’s a big one.
Bryce Harper was right!
Only Angel Hernandez could ever get me, a scorned Nationals fan, to side with Bryce Harper again. Here we are.
You’ve probably seen videos online of Harper getting tossed and then tossing his helmet into the stands for the crowd. It’s a whole thing. The thing about it is the dude was actually right.
It was over a bad checked swing call from Hernandez. Mary Clarke has more for us here.
“In the bottom of the third, with one out and no one on, Harper was faced with a full count. Harper made a check swing on a ball low and away and was called out on strikes after the home plate umpire checked with Hernandez at third. Harper was absolutely livid after the call, as he went off on Hernandez and earned himself an ejection in the process, throwing his batting helmet to the Phillies crowd on his way out.”
As Mary points out, this is very clearly not a swing.
Guess what umpire called this a swing? pic.twitter.com/hJrYaU8H4r
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 28, 2023
Never thought I’d say this again, but Bryce Harper has a point. Angel Hernandez, you must be stopped.
Quick hits: Sports betting is influencing sports leagues … Even the kiddos are roasting Angel Hernandez … and more
— Mark Cuban admitted that the NBA’s new rest policy was influenced by the sports betting world. I feel…kind of weird about that? Prince Grimes has more on why it actually makes sense, though.
— The kid who got Bryce Harper’s tossed helmet doesn’t seem to enjoy Angel Hernandez, either. Charles Curtis has more.
— Ray Allen has a pretty interesting take on NIL rights in the NCAA for players. Bryan Kalbrosky has more.
— Christian D’Andrea has you covered on the best prop bets for Week 4 of NFL action.
— Robert Zeglinski has more on Quay Walker’s ridiculous leap that completely killed the Packers’ comeback chances against the Lions.
— Charles Curtis has you covered on where College GameDay is headed for Week 5 of college football.
That’s all, folks. Enjoy your weekend!